Chapter 12 #2
“So, you came on this trip solely to support your friend Hannah?” Chief asked as he gestured toward her.
“Yes. That’s what friends do. Support each other.”
Right. It didn’t sound at all like Bianca meant that statement.
“What about you, Bianca? Do you have any enemies? Anyone who’d want to do this to you? Maybe Alyssa was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“No. None. Why would you ask that? I wasn’t even there,” Bianca snapped.
Both the chief and Dewey leaned forward, resting their forearms on the table. Their gazes bore into Bianca.
“That’s right. You weren’t there. How lucky you are,” the chief said as he tilted his head to the side a bit.
What was the man trying to imply? Did he think Bianca had something to do with this?
“I guess,” Bianca replied.
Her gaze bore into the man, making it obvious she didn’t appreciate his accusing stare.
“If I were you, I’d focus on the guy Hannah pissed off at the gas station,” Bianca blurted, then shifted her gaze to Hannah.
“What? That guy. We don’t even know him. He wouldn’t know where we were. Why would he do this?” Hannah replied.
Bianca shrugged. “I don’t know. You just made him so mad he practically had smoke billowing out of his ears.”
“What guy? Gas station? What happened?” the chief asked.
Hannah shivered at the thought of the strange man at the station.
“It’s dumb, really. We stopped at a gas station a little south of here, and I went in to get a cup of coffee.
I drained the pot. I didn’t know this guy was waiting behind me, and when he saw the pot was empty, he blew a gasket.
Started yelling at me. Called me an entitled bitch.
Cursed up a storm. I took a step back, and he stepped with me.
I thought he might hit me, but then the attendant came over to make another pot.
Maybe it was because the worker was a male that the guy stopped yelling at me.
I don’t know. But his death stare was horrifying.
I swear his eyes glowed red. He was that angry over coffee. It was so bizarre.”
“What happened then?”
“I paid for my coffee and we left.”
“Did he follow you?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“What gas station was this?”
“It was an Acer gas station. Near Rhinelander.”
“What did the man look like? Any noticeable mannerisms? Anything uniquely identifying about him?”
Hannah leaned back in her chair and thought for a moment. “He seemed kind of average. Maybe five ten. A little on the chunky side. Forty-five or so. He had long, dark brown hair with some gray mixed in.”
The chief nodded. “You’re doing well. Anything else? Scars? Tattoos?”
Hannah leaned her head back and closed her eyes, trying hard to picture the man. “I don’t know. He scared me. I just wanted to get out of there.”
“Bianca, did you notice anything else about him?” the chief asked.
“No. Nothing to add, except he was dressed kind of sloppy.”
Of course, her vain friend would pay attention to the man’s clothing when she was getting yelled at and was probably on the verge of being struck.
“Sloppy?”
“Dewey, call the gas station and see if they have video.”
“Yes, sir,” the officer replied as he rose and walked out of the room.
“What about a vehicle?”
Hannah perked up at the thought of the vehicle she saw parked near the front entrance.
“There was an old, rusty Ford Bronco parked by the entry. Maybe that was his.”
“Did you see him get into that vehicle?” the chief asked.
“No, but it seems like a vehicle that kind of guy would drive. And there weren’t many other people there.
There was a lady with a couple of small kids, an older couple, and two guys getting breakfast sandwiches.
They looked like construction workers. I suppose I could have missed seeing some other people.
Honestly, I wasn’t paying attention. I just wanted out of there,” Hannah answered.
“Bianca?”
“I noticed the woman and kids and the mean guy, but nobody and nothing else. Sorry.”
Hannah’s breath hitched, and she felt taken aback by the lack of sincerity in the mechanical tone her friend used when she apologized.
“What exactly are you sorry for?” Chief Ricco asked. “Sorry you’re unable to recall details to help us find the person who murdered your friend, or sorry that you’ve been inconvenienced by all of this. Which is it?”
Whoa! Hannah’s pulse hitched at the attitude in the chief’s tone, coupled with the expression he wore.
It was one thing for her to question her friend’s sincerity in all her confusion right now, but to have the chief imply the same justified her emotion, and that made her even sadder.
Still, hearing him, a stranger, think bad thoughts about Bianca, made her want to defend her friend’s genuineness.
Did he honestly think Bianca knew more than she let on?
Did he think she had something to do with Alyssa’s murder?
Bianca’s eyes narrowed and her facial muscles tightened. The chief had struck a nerve.
“How dare you imply I don’t care about what happened to Alyssa. She was a dear friend. I loved her,” Bianca replied through gritted teeth.
“I didn’t imply anything. Just looking for clarification.”
Dewey stepped back into the room, leaned over, and whispered to the chief.
The man sighed and nodded, then returned his attention to Hannah.
“The gas station has video cameras, but, unfortunately, the recording system has been down for weeks. They’ve been waiting for a technician to come out and install a new system.
However, we’re waiting for a call back from the employee who worked that day, hoping he can shed some light on who the guy is. ”
Hannah shifted nervously in her seat. Could this random person from the gas station have killed her friend over a cup of coffee?
Her body quivered. Was SHE really the target?